Weekly Shonen Jump's print circulation has fallen below one million certified copies for the first time since 2008, and its 33rd issue of 2026 sold out in Japan after scalpers targeted a bonus One Piece card, leaving some readers unable to buy the physical edition.
Weekly Shonen Jump is in a period of sharp decline in print, with the Japan Magazine Publishers Association reporting an average certified circulation of 985,000 copies per quarter from April to June 2026. That is the first time the magazine has dropped below one million since the association began publishing audited figures in 2008. The decline has been steady for at least 12 years, from 1,290,417 copies in April-June 2022, below two million in 2017, and below 1.5 million in late 2020. The magazine's record circulation was 6.53 million copies with the combined New Year 1995 issue, released in December 1994, when it serialized Dragon Ball and Slam Dunk.
In the same quarter, other major manga magazines also saw modest figures: Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine averaged 281,000 copies, Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday averaged 120,000, and Monthly CoroCoro Comic averaged approximately 213,000. The broader market shrank by 12.7% in 2025, and the print market as a whole fell below one trillion yen for the first time since 1976. Editor Nobuhiko Saito warned that the decline could reduce the variety of titles readers discover through bookstores.
Despite the falling print numbers, demand for a specific issue spiked in July 2026. The 33rd issue, which contained the final chapter of Blue Box after a five-year serialization, sold out at bookstores and convenience stores across Japan. Shueisha had increased the print run by 500,000 copies ahead of release, but scalpers bought multiple copies to resell the bonus One Piece Card Game promotional card. One university student told Oricon he bought about 25 copies within an hour, reselling the cards for 800 to 1,000 yen each and earning roughly 18,000 yen in profit. Convenience store employees described the release day rush as unusually intense, with one clerk calling the atmosphere "a little scary."
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Aug 6
The Japan Magazine Publishers Association reported on Wednesday that Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump averaged 985,000 certified print copies per quarter from April to June 2026, the first time the magazine has dropped below one million since the association began publishing audited figures in 2008. The decline means no print magazine in Japan now has a certified circulation above one million copies. Weekly Shonen Jump's print circulation has fallen steadily for at least 12 years, from 1,290,417 copies in April-June 2022, below two million in 2017, and below 1.5 million in late 2020. The magazine's record circulation was 6.53 million copies with the combined New Year 1995 issue, released in December 1994, when it serialized Dragon Ball and Slam Dunk. In the same quarter, Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine averaged 281,000 copies, Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday averaged 120,000, and Monthly CoroCoro Comic averaged approximately 213,000. The figures come as Japan's manga magazine market shrank by 12.7% in 2025, and the print market as a whole fell below one trillion yen for the first time since 1976.
Jul 15
The 33rd issue of Weekly Shonen Jump sold out at bookstores and convenience stores across Japan after scalpers targeted its bonus One Piece Card Game promotional card, leaving many readers unable to purchase the magazine. Publisher Shueisha had increased the print run by 500,000 copies ahead of release in response to demand for the card, but the extra supply was quickly exhausted as resellers bought multiple copies. The shortage particularly frustrated fans of Blue Box, as the issue contained the manga's final chapter after a five-year serialization. While the chapter is available digitally, many readers wanted a physical copy as a keepsake. In an interview with Oricon, a university student admitted buying about 25 copies of the magazine within an hour, reselling the promotional cards for 800 to 1,000 yen each and earning roughly 18,000 yen in profit. When asked about the impact on other readers, he said, "You can read it digitally anyway. I understand why people want the physical copy, but I don't feel like I've done anything wrong." Convenience store employees described the release day rush as unusually intense, with one clerk telling Oricon that customers grabbed copies the moment they were placed on shelves, calling the atmosphere "a little scary."